The Time Traveller

The Return of Alf Roper: Championship of Cork 1919

After winning the 1914 Williamson Shield, Alf Roper had enlisted in the British Army shortly after the Great War started. Having survived the hostilities 1919 saw him stationed in Cork with the rank of Staff-Sergeant. While there he entered for the Championship of Cork, where he faced seven local players in a double-round all-play-all. He finished 3.5 points ahead of the field with 10 wins, 3 draws and only 1 defeat (to Archer). The success won him the Plunkett Trophy, "a handsome silver king", according to the Belfast News-Letter and the probably unique distinction of being champion of Belfast and Cork at the same time.

CHAMPIONSHIP OF CORK 1919
	R	C	M	A	N	L	O'C	G	TOTAL
A. S. ROPER	XX	1.5	1.5	1.0	2.0	1.5	2.0	2.0	11.5
T. COLEMAN	0.5	XX	0.5	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	8.0
A. MARTIN	0.5	1.5	XX	2.0	2.0	0.5	1.5	0.0	8.0
R. ARCHER	1.0	1.0	0.0	XX	1.0	1.0	1.5	2.0	7.5
P. NEWMAN	0.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	XX	2.0	1.0	2.0	7.0
M. LEVIN	0.5	1.0	1.5	1.0	0.0	XX	1.0	1.5	6.5
W. O'CONNELL	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	1.0	XX	1.5	4.5
J.GOOD	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	XX	3.0
O'CONNELL lost a game each to COLEMAN, MARTIN AND NEWMAN by default

A. S. Roper - W. O'Connell: Championship of Cork, 1919
[Annotations by Roper in the Belfast News-Letter for 11th September 1919]

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Bb4 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Qe1 Bc5+ 9.Kh1 Nd4
Mr. R. C. Griffiths, in annotating a game in the "B.C.M." some time ago, stated - "Mr. Blackburne recommmends 9...f5. Mr. Edward Lasker thinks 9...Bg4 is good; personally he preferred the text move to any at this point. Another alternative is 9...f6 as played by F. J. Marshall (v Dr. Perlis)."
10.Nxd4
10.Bd1 has been favoured in most tournaments, but I see nothing against the text move if followed at once by d3.
10...Bxd4 11.Bf3
11.d3 should have been played at once.
11...f5 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.d3 c6
Black's conduct of the defence, so far, has been admirable.
14.Ne2 Bb6 15.Bg5 Bd7 16.c3
16...Bc7 was preferable here.
16...Qe8 17.Qg3 Kh8 18.Rae1 Qf7 19.d4 Rae8 20.Bxf6
I cannot see anything against 20...Qxf6, which appears to be the stronger move. Apparently Black expected to do better with the open g-file.
20...gxf6 21.Qh4 Qg7 22.Nf4 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Rg8 24.Nh5 Qg5 25.Qxg5 fxg5

26.Re7
26.Nf6 might have been tried here. If 26...Re8 27.Bg4 wins a piece.
26...Bf5 Black cannot afford to give up a pawn at this stage. Better would have been 26...Re8, which would have forced an exchange of Rooks.
27.Rxb7 Re8 28.h3 Bg6 29.Nf6 Re1+ 30.Kh2 Rb1 31.Bh5! Bd3 32.Be2
This and the following move of White were made to gain time on the clock.
32...Bg6 33.Bh5 Bd3 34.Be8 Rxb2 35.Bxc6 Rxa2 36.Bxd5 Rc2 37.Be4 Bxe4 38.Nxe4 1-0
White is threatening to win two pawns or to play 39.Nf6 to which there is no defence.

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These events may seem a very long time ago for the contemporary player. However when Roper returned to Belfast later in 1919, he was asked by the secretary of the Belfast Chess Club to play a few games against a young boy who was showing promise at the game. That boy was Arthur Cootes, still playing in Ulster chess competitions over eighty years later.